The Next Generation
by SinfulPride
Summary: It has been 3 years since Kaguya was defeated. The time has come for the Rookie 9 to start taking on teams of their own. See what shenanigans the new generation can get into. *INDEFINITE HIATUS*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is not complete or finalized in any way. I have tried to catch any spelling mistakes and/or inconsistancies but I am only human. If you find any or have suggestions feel free to comment or send me a PM. I do not know when or if I will come back to finish this story. This holds true for all chapters in the future as well. This is my first story so I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you for reading.**

 **Chapter 1: A New Start**

Shikamaru was leaning against the wall of the academy. He no longer wore his flak jacket. Instead, he wore a short sleeved, light beige jacket open over a black t-shirt. His chin, covered in the start of a goatee, was raised to watch the clouds drift by, thinking back to the time where he used to be an instructor in this very academy. Life was simpler then. However, the laid back head of the Nara clan had new responsibilities. He had become the clan leader when his father died during the war, and he had also taken over his father's position as jonin Commander in Konaha. Despite the troublesome jobs, he was showing an excellent grasp of his positions, putting forth effort that no one had seen from him before the war. In the three years since the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War much had happened. Everyone was working towards rebuilding the damage that was caused during the War. Tsunade had stepped down as Hokage, being succeeded by Kakashi. Despite his initial hesitations, Kakahsi was proving to be an outstanding Rokudaime Hokage. The Five Great Nations all maintained the spirit of peace and cooperation that had been fostered during the War, coming together when necessary to help the restorations of the countries. And not least of all, every member of the renown "Rookie 9" had been promoted to jonin.

Today was the day that some of the new jonin would finally be assigned to their Genin teams. Shikamaru himself was not eligible to lead a genin team, not that he really wanted to, but his other positions did not allow him the time to train and do missions with a team. He was merely there to observe his friends and their new students. He had always like being a part of the academy, watching the enthusiasm of the younger generation of ninjas, even when said enthusiasm caused them to be very troublesome. Likewise, Ino had also become the head of her clan after the war and was ineligible for the position. Chouji was only member of Ino-Shika-Cho that had not lost their father during the war, therefore, his father had remained clan head for the time being, freeing Chouji of the responsibility. Both Kiba and Shino were in the same position as Chouji and would also be taking on genin teams. Hinata was too tied up with clan politics to deal with being a sensei. The Hyuga heiress had started dating Naruto not too long after the war and needed to sort out all the implications that went along with that with the Hyuga clan elders. Sakura was the world's leading medical ninja behind her sensei, Tsunade, and was needed in the hospital training healers more than in the field training genin. Sasuke had left Konoha shortly after being reinstated as a Leaf Shinobi for his services during the war. The decision had not been a popular one, but the attitude settled down once it was known he would be leaving the village for an extended mission that could take years, much like Jiraiya had done in the past. Naruto was the only member of the Rinne Sannin, or Sannin 2.0, that was available to be a jonin Sensei. He was also the most enthusiastic about becoming a Sensei.

Speaking of enthusiasm, Shikamaru smirked when he remembered the look on Naruto's face when the new Hokage had informed the group of their promotion after the war. Due to his time away from village and all the mess with the Akatsuki, Naruto had never even been promoted to Chunin, though given his fame and his power level, even the rank of jonin was a little bit redundant. The only other surprise had been when the Hokage also promoted Sasuke along with his reinstatement.

The guy had skills, no one could argue against the man's abilities. He was the only ninja alive that could compete with Naruto, but it still left a bit of a bad taste in Shikamaru's mouth. No matter how much the guy had helped during the war, there was no denying that he had betrayed the village in the past, and was even responsible for the death of the interim Hokage, Danzo. The only consolation was that Sasuke had accepted the long-term fact finding mission as a sort of penance for his mistakes. The only one who was upset at this was Sakura, as she had hoped she could have finally gotten her chance to be with Sasuke. Naruto took the departure will a cool acceptance, knowing his best friend wasn't leaving the village for good, and that he would be back.

'Jeeze, who knew a nice trip down memory lane could turn into such a drag,' Shikamaru thought to himself. Looking back at the clouds overhead, the jonin was interrupted again as the four new jonin Senseis arrived at the academy.

"Ha! Who would have guessed the slacker of the year would be the first to arrive?" exclaimed Kiba. He had stopped wearing leather jackets and had started wearing a jacket like the one he wore as genin, although this one was a slimmer fit and he wore it open over his fishnet tshirt. His hair was also starting to grow longer.

"Lay off of him," responded Chouji, still in his clan's typical armor. "He just misses being an instructor. He's been putting a lot of effort in now that he has so much more responsibilities."

"It is only to be expected." Shino added with his monotone analysis. "He is quite possibly the most intelligent member of Konoha. He would therefore be the only one suited for such positions." The bug handler had also started to grow out his hair, and he no longer wore his hood up, but not much else had changed.

Shikamaru sighed. "Maybe, but just cuz I'm suited for it, doesn't make it a total drag. Sometimes I even wish they made me go out on missions like you guys. It would at least be something different from all the paper work and politics."

"Made you? Man, that's the best part!" Naruto's enthusiasm was almost at Guy levels. Although, being in a wheelchair had curbed the Green-Spandex wearing oddity to a degree. "I can't wait to show my new team all my awesome jutsu and –"

"Calm down Naruto, it isn't that big of a deal. It's certainly not going to be that exciting. I mean, they're genin," smirked Kiba at the deflated looking jonin. Naruto had his prosthetic hand wrapped in bandages. It still kinda weirded people out, himself included, when one of his hands was a different color from the other. He also had cut his hair shorter and had gotten a new jacket, although it was still orange and it had a black collar.

"Now that we are all here, we can go in and join the other jonin before meeting your teams," Shikamaru said leading the way into the academy.

The five jonin joined up with a few of the other older jonins and walked into the specified classroom and turned to face the assembled Genin.

"Listen up!" Iruka called. "I will now call your name to assign you into your teams." He began reading names off the list and the new teams would depart to introduce themselves on their own. The tension was building after each sensei was announced. Everyone was hoping for the chance to train under the legendary Naruto Uzumaki, Hero of the War and candidate for Nanadaime Hokage. Iruka continued until he got to Team 7. "Hanabi Hyuga, Isamu Inuzuka, and Akira Hokori will be under," pause for dramatic effect, "Naruto Uzumaki.".

The three genins sat there in shock, although, perhaps for different reasons. The two boys, Isamu and Akira, couldn't believe they were lucky enough to be on Naruto's team. Hanabi, on the other hand wasn't sure if she should be glad or horrified that her sister's boyfriend was now her sensei. She had gotten to know Naruto a bit over the past few years as he had come by the Hyuga compound to visit Hinata and wasn't sure how this new situation would affect their relationship. He had always been super kind to her, even a little annoyingly so, but he was also dating her sister, which was already complicated enough to deal with. Naruto was stoked. He looked to Iruka, who noded, acknowledging the "coincidence" of assigning them to the same team number that he had been a part of as genin.

"Looks like Team 7 is gonna kick butt again this time!" he called out. "Alright you guys, meet me on the roof." He disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Shikamaru was distracted as soon as he heard the names of the members on Team 7. 'That team has a lot of potential, almost as much as the original Team 7,' he mused. 'I wonder if Iruka sees that. He's had a lot of experience assigning these teams, it wouldn't surprise me. You have the gifted heir of a noble clan, the fiery hothead, and the more distant genius, although I doubt many realize how gifted he really is.' In the past three years, Shikamaru had come across the young ninja on multiple occasions, each time the boy had surprised the spikey haired ninja. 'I'll have to ask Iruka about it.'

Shikamaru was so caught up in his musing that he was slightly startled when Iruka had finished announcing the teams. He walked up to the instructor. "Something I can help you with Shikamaru? I'm assuming it has something to do with Team 7?"

"Yeah. Did you assign that team? I thought the teams were supposed to be more balanced than that. This team has a chance of becoming quite overpowered compared to the other teams."

"I thought the same thing. But it was actually Hokage-sama that recommended them, as well as to put them under Naruto."

"Really?" Shikamaru was surprised. For the Hokage to take a personal interest in genin team assignments was not anything abnormal, it was certainly interesting considering how much work Kakashi was currently doing to get the last of the repercussions from the war finalized. That he would take the time to look out for this, spoke of more than idle curiosity. 'He must have seen it too,' Shikamaru smiled. 'He may have lost the Sharingan, but he is still doesn't seem to miss much.' As he turned to leave the academy, Shikamaru couldn't help but think that things were going to get interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Balancing the Past**

"Hello, Shikamaru," the masked man greeted from behind his desk. "What brings you by on such a lovely day?"

"Team 7." Getting straight to the point.

"Ah, so you talked to Iruka?" His eyes crinkled above his mask, the only sign that he was smiling.

"Yeah. Don't you think it is a little irresponsible assigning so much potential to a single team? It could discourage the others or even unbalance the system."

"I am aware of the risks, but I had a hunch. Having Naruto as a Sensei in itself puts a lot of expectations on the team. I wanted to make sure that I chose a team that would be able to handle that much pressure. Plus, both Akira and Hanabi have been known to be a little reclusive and more solo, although Hanabi has made great progress since she saw how strong Hinata had become with her friends. In fact, I think that is the only reason she had decided to come to the academy in the first place. So who better to get these two solo acts to open up besides Naruto, the man who brought the Five Great Nations together?"

Shikamaru was nodding. He agreed with Kakashi's reasoning. The man was one of the few people in Konoha, the world, for that matter, that could hope to compete with Shikamuru's intellect. But there was still something bothering him, something he wanted to make absolutely certain the Hokage understood. "You may be right about that, but we both know Naruto can be a bit of a knucklehead sometimes. He has very little experience training others aside from Konohamaru's Pervy Jutsu and the Rasengan. I know that Akira especially will be hard for him to handle."

"What makes you say that?" Kakashi was genuinely intrigued now. Something that worried Shikamaru, besides the thought of effort, was something that worried Kakashi.

"I've met the kids a few times while visiting the academy. He reminds me a little of myself, but more like Sasuke at that age. He is a highly intelligent, but he never really applied himself, just like me. But whereas I was usually daydreaming, he is always reading from these scrolls. At first I thought they were just some old novels or something that hadn't been turned into books yet. But I asked him one day while he was reading between classes, it was a fuinjutsu scroll." Kakashi's eyes widened. Fuinjutsu was a pretty advanced topic, certainly something that should be beyond an academy student. "He reads the things like crazy. Apparently, his family had been highly dedicated to studying fuinjutsu and had started teaching him early. He has a knack for it and he is driven to learn as much as he can. He is polite and friendly enough when you talk to him, but he doesn't spend any time with the other kids, whether on purpose or because they never invite him, I'm not sure. From what I can tell, he spends all of his freetime home alone working through his family's knowledge on fuinjutsu."

"Home alone, I thought you said his parents were teaching him?"

"I said his family had taught him. His parents both died in the Sound/Sand invasion. His older sister was the one that raised him and taught him everything she knew. Apparently, she was some kind of genius in fuinjutsu. She was one of the Captains of the Sealing Corps. in the Shinobi Alliance even though she was still pretty young. She was even in my division, but I never met her. She died when Madara summoned his meteors. The kid is an orphan."

"Does Naruto know?"

"No, the kid asked me not to tell anyone after he told me. He didn't want sympathy or special treatment just because he was unlucky. I'm only telling you because I honestly like the kid and want to make sure he is okay."

"Hmm." Kakashi was thinking, his lips twitched upward in a smile behind his mask. "You really care about this kid, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know the kind of crap Naruto went through as a kid because he was alone and I don't want Akira to face the same things. He is determined to get stronger, but I can't tell what his goals are. He isn't the vengeful type like Sasuke was, even though everyone responsible for his parents's and sister's death are gone now anyway, but he isn't the loudmouth attention seeker Naruto was either, so I don't know what his goals are."

"It's a pity you're so busy, I might have considered putting him on a squad with you." Kakashi chuckled. "But I don't think you have to worry about it. Like you said, Naruto went through a rough childhood, he knows better than anyone how to get through and we both know he isn't the type to give up on a comrade. I think Naruto is the perfect person for Akira." Shikamaru couldn't help but give a small smile at Kakashi's take on things. He certainly hoped the Hokage was correct. He decided he might spend a little extra time watching them, just in case, or maybe give Naruto some hints. Feeling a bit better about everything, Shikamare nodded his thanks to the Hokage and turned to leave. As he was walking away, he missed the look of pride in Kakashi's eyes. 'You better not screw up, Naruto, because Shikamaru is shaping up to be another excellent Hokage candidate.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Introductions**

Naruto was super excited. He finally was a Jonin, the village, and pretty much every village for that matter, finally accepted him for who he was, and now he had his own team to teach. The icing on the cake was that Iruka had decided to make his team, Team 7, just like when Naruto was a Genin.

"Alright!" he exclaimed. "Today is our first day as a team and I want us to introduce ourselves so we can start getting to know one another. I will go first. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are Ichiraku Ramen and spending time with my friends. My dislikes are people who give up or treat others unfairly. My hobbies are training and eating ramen. And my dream is to become the greatest Hokage the village has ever had. Okay, who wants to go next?" He looked over at the three genins sitting before him. "Why not you, Hanabi-chan?"

"Fine," she sighed. So far, knowing the sensei had not been a bonus. The young Hyuga had the typical white, pupil-less eyes of her clan and had forgone the typical yellow dress with flame patterns that she wore around the compound for more practical training gear, wearing a jacket similar to Hinata's old one, though hers was worn open and was less baggy. She also on dark colored shorts and had bandages wrapped around her left leg and arm, reminiscent of her cousin Neji. "My name is Hanabi Hyuga. I like spending time with my nee-san and Naruto-nii-san –"

"Hanabi," interrupted Naruto, "when we are training or on missions, you should call me Naruto-sensei or just Sensei, okay?"

"Oops. Sorry Naruto-sensei. I forgot," she apologized.

"No worries. Please continue."

"Okay, so my likes are spending time with my nee-san and Naruto- _sensei_ ," placing extra emphasis on the sensei. Maybe her teammates would give her a little more respect if they knew she was already familiar with their sensei. "and training with Father. My dislikes are people who make excuses and anyone who disrespects my clan. I also don't like ramen. Sorry, Sensei." She knew Naruto's borderline-obsession with the food. "My hobbies are training and collecting cute little animals," she squealed holding up a little toy bird tied to one of her kunai. "And my dream is to make my sister and my father proud by being a great clan leader."

"Those are very good goals, Hanabi, but you shouldn't treat your kunai like toys," Naruto scolded. "Now, who will go next?"

"I will," chimed the young boy with red fang markings on his cheeks. "I am Isamu Inuzuka and this is Takeshi and Takeo," pointing to the small husky puppies that were lying in his hood with their heads resting on each of his shoulders. "My likes are playing with the nin-dogs. My dislikes are anyone who mistreats animals or their friends. My hobbies are helping out at the vet and training the nin-dogs. And my dream is to train the strongest nin-dogs ever to bring recognition to my clan."

Naruto studied the young boy in front of him. Besides the tell-tale red fangs on his cheeks, he also had the Inuzuka slitted pupils. "You remind me a lot of your cousin Kiba, though you seem like less of a hot-head than he was at your age." He even had a similar jacket. Though, where kiba's was gray with black fur around the hood, Isamu's jacket was a black, short-sleeve jacket with gray fur around the sides and back of the collar, instead of on the hood.

"HEY! Kiba-nii-san is a great ninja and he and Akamaru were a big help in the Fourth Great Shinobi War!"

The other two genins sighed as Naruto muttered to himself, "I guess I was wrong about the hot-head part."

Isamu heard the comment and blushed slightly, sitting down with a bit of embarrassment. His pups not even bothering to stir in their little perch.

genins were from pretty distinguished clans that each had a certain style about them, this boy was unlike anyone he had ever seen in the village before. He was slightly taller than the average genin and had a slim-athletic build typical of most ninjas, but his clothes were what was unusual. He wore a black, sleeveless tunic gi that was open partway down his chest, revealing a mesh t-shirt underneath. The tunic front corners of the gi hung down to just above mid-thigh, but rising up to the waist on either side. His black pants were tucked into black combat boots under gray shin-guards like anbu members would wear. He also had black fingerless gloves that went up to the boys elbows. There was a wide purple belt poking out from between the two halves of the gi at his waste. The belt seemed to be supporting several scroll pouches on the sides and more on the back that were covered by the low hanging gi. His shuriken holster was on his right leg and his forehead protector was on his left arm, both held by purple cloth. The boy's eyes were blue, clear and sharp, with medium length hair brushed back and almost defying gravity to spike out the back of his head, kind of reminded Naruto of Jiraiya's crazy hair, and he had two thin strands falling around his face.

"My name is Akira Hokori. I like reading and practicing my fuinjutsu with my nee-san. I dislike…" he paused, "um, I don't really know what I dislike. My hobbies are making my own seals and trying to learn new jutsu. My goals are like Hanabi's. I might not have a clan image I have to live up to, but I want to make my nee-san proud of my skills.

Naruto was impressed. Fuinjutsu was an area of study he had never ventured. He knew his parents had been very skilled in the art, but he had never had the urge to attempt it himself. It has always struck him as an advanced and obscure school of techniques. The only people he knew of that seriously pursued the enterprise were all highly studious individuals, which went against his more hands-on approach to jutsu. "It sounds like you all have very admirable goals. I am glad to have been able to get you all a little bit better this afternoon. I am looking forward to seeing you all grow and accomplish your goals! Now, we are done for today, but we start bright and early tomorrow morning. Meet me at 8 am at training ground 14. I recommend skipping breakfast unless you want to puke. The only way to get stronger is to work hard, and I plan on pushing you all to your limits. Enjoy the rest of your day!"

And with that, he shunshined away from the trio.

Later that day

"Man, my genin are a bunch of idiots," complained Kiba to the group as they were sitting down at a restaurant for dinner. "Why does Naruto get all the luck?"

"Me? What do you mean?"

"I mean, you have my cousin Isamu and you have your girlfriend's little sister. The only thing missing is a mini-Shino and you'd have the old Team 8 again."

"Speaking of your third genin," Ino interjected, "Who is he? I've never seen anyone like him around the village before."

"He said his name is Akira Hokori, but I'm with you. I've never seen anyone like him either. Shikamaru, you seem to know everything, do you know anything about him?"

"I know a little, but most of it is just from some run-ins I've had with the kid while he was still in the academy. It's not really my place to say. He's a good kid, but he is pretty withdrawn, just give him some time." Remembering the hints he meant to give after speaking with the Hokage, he added, "He is a little like you and Sasuke, but he isn't the hands-on type like you are. I know that Akira is more like me and he is a theory driven learner."

"Oh man. I suck at theory. How am I supposed to teach them that?"

"It's up to you, Naruto. You're the sensei, not me. Think of it as training in leadership for when you are Hokage."

"Don't worry, Naruto. You'll figure it out," encouraged Hinata.

"Yeah," agreed Chouji. "Besides, the beginning is mostly basic stuff, so you have time before it gets to the more complex jutsus and stuff."

"What are you going to do for your initial testing?" asked Kiba.

"I was thinking the Bell Test," Naruto answered. "It was what Kakashi did for us and it really sticks with you afterwards."

"Hahaha. Man, I can't wait to see my cousin's face when he hears he has to fight you on the first day of training. I almost wish I could cancel my training to watch" laughed Kiba with several of the others joining in.

'I'm curious to see how just much like Shikamaru he is,' Ino thought. 'It'd be an interesting match up, brains vs brawn.'

Sakura was one of the few not chuckling at the thought of the genins trying to fight the single strongest shinobi alive. "Just remember it's supposed to teach them, Naruto. You especially have to be careful or you'll seriously hurt them."

"I know, Sakura, I know." Thinking to himself, 'Man, I guess this is how Kakashi felt when he fought us the first time.'


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Ringing in the New Era

The three genins were walking towards the three upright logs at the training grounds when Naruto appeared in front of them holding an alarm and three lunch boxes. "Excellent! You guys arrived right on time. I hope you all skipped breakfast. Now, today's training is going to be pretty straightforward, but probably the hardest work out you've ever had."

"What will we be doing exactly?" asked a nervous Isamu.

"Simple, all you have to do is take these bells from me," he replied holding up two shiny objects on little red strings. "You will have until noon to try and get these bells from me. Whichever one of you-"

His sentence was cut short as Hanabi lunged forward trying to grab the bells, but Naruto disappeared before her hand could grasp the bell.

"Now now, Hanabi, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I never said we were starting yet," he chided.

All three genin spun around in surprise to see Naruto standing right behind them.

"Oh. Sorry, Sensei," she said without any hint of apology, while thinking 'Dang it, I couldn't even see him move.'

'Man, how can we even compete with that speed?' Isamu's thoughts were running parallel to his teammate's.

Naruto had to chuckle at her guts, but he had expected as much from her. "Fast action can be a deciding factor in many battles. But it can also pay to be careful and make sure you know all the facts before making your move. Judging which of these situations you are in will come with experience, which is why I am here." He paused to make sure they recognized the lesson he was giving them before continuing. "Now, as I was saying, whoever doesn't manage to get a bell will be tied to one of these logs here and watch as the rest of us eat our lunch, and if no one gets a bell, then you will all be tied to the logs and watch as I eat all of the lunches."

The three genin paled realizing that this was the reason he had made them skip breakfast.

"Oh, and by the way, whoever fails to get a bell by the end of the day also goes back to the academy."

"There is no way this is legal!" shouted Isamu. "You are, like, uber powerful. There is no way we can beat you!"

"No one ever said being a shinobi was easy. Not everyone survives their missions. This test is designed so that at least one of you fails just to get you used to that fact. You are each going to have to come at me with serious intent to kill, anything goes. Use every trick you know, because I seriously doubt any of you can take me head-on. Good luck, now we are starting."

The three genins scattered to hide.

'Hmm. I guess they are smarter than I was back then,' Naruto chuckled to himself. 'How could I have ever thought I could take Kakashi head on like that? I guess I'll give them a few minutes before I go looking for them.'

Hanabi was up in a tree, watching everything with her Byakugan when a weird movement caught her eye. Akira was hiding in a bush holding up a scroll with, "Get Isamu and meet me" written on it. 'He wants to work together. I don't know why he wants all three of us. There are only two bells.' Scanning around, she found Isamu not too far away sniffing around, making sure no one would sneak up on him. She quickly made her way over to the dog trainer, trying to avoid being detected by Naruto.

"Psst. Isamu," whispered Hanabi, "I think Akira has a plan, come on."

Naruto was looking around for the Genin for a few minutes when he found them all sitting together talking. He snuck up, making sure to be downwind from the Inuzuka's nose and overhears the last bit of their conversation. 'Maybe they already understand the teamwork part?'

"Guys, forget about the bell thing, you saw how fast he was! There is no way to beat him one on one," argued Akira.

"Forget that. That is just a weakling's excuse. He will probably hold back. There is no way it would be fair otherwise. Besides, he thinks we are too weak. I'm gonna use that and prove that I can get him by myself," Isamu shot back.

"Come one guys," pleaded Hanabi, "I can't go back to the academy, my dad would kill me."

Naruto couldn't see her face, but judging from her tone, he knew Hanabi was probably close to tears at the thought of her father's disapproval. And from what Naruto knew about Hiashi, it probably wasn't far off the mark.

"I don't care about your dad," hissed Isamu as he stood. "I'm going to go get those bells without you." He jumped away with Takeo and Takeshi still in his hood.

Akira sighed, clearly frustrated with his teammate. "We can't pull this off without all of us. No point in even trying now. I'm going to go get some reading in. At least I might be able to learn something today. If you get him to change his mind, come find me." And with that, the black and purple genin jumped off in the opposite direction of Isamu.

'Man, I was sure they were going to get the teamwork thing down, I guess I spoke too soon. It's too bad, too. Akira was on the right track,' Naruto mused. 'Might as well see what he is reading, maybe I can have a little fun with him.' Naruto jumped away through the trees with a smirk.

Not long after, Naruto came across the spot Akira had settled down to read. It was a nice little clearing surrounded by bushes and shaded from the morning sun. The boy was leaning with his back against a tree reading from one of the many scrolls he carried with him. 'Now for some fun,' the long-time prankster smiled to himself. He shunshined into the clearing, directly in front of Akira, about to let the boy have it, when he suddenly couldn't move. The boy looked up and smiled at him.

'WHAT! He trapped me?! When did he set this up?'

"Sorry, Sensei, but you were the one to say, 'Anything goes.'"

The boy moved forward to grab the bells.

'This isn't good, I can't let him get the bells!'

' **I can't believe you got outsmarted by this upstart. It's disgraceful having to resort to using my power against such a rookie.** '

'Oh can it, Kurama. You didn't see it coming either.' Naruto's clothes flashed into the glowing orange of his Kyuubi Chakra Mode for a second, unleashing a tremendous burst of chakra to break through whatever was trapping him there. Suddenly free, heaimed a kick at the boy to knock him away from the bells. The boy had no time to react, except instead of sending him flying, the kick went right through his chest, as though he didn't exist.

'A clone?'

The real Akira jumped out of the bushes to Naruto's left lunging for the bells at his belt. Naruto was still off balance from the lack of resistance his kick had met.

'Just what is this kid?' Once again, drawing upon Kurama's power, Naruto used the chakra to manifest an arm and punch Akira in the stomach, stopping him before he could grab the bells. As the punch connected, Akira disappeared in a puff of smoke, being replaced by a broken log.

'Substitution?'

In the next instant, he noticed the explosive tags attached to the log.

'Holy shi-!'

The explosion goes off, barely missing Naruto as he jumped into the air. His cloak was singed and he could still feel the sting of the shockwave. As he fell back towards the trees, a large cloud of smoke erupted around him, blocking off everything he could see, but he could still feel two incoming attacks, one from each side. He jumps back, dodging one of the attacks as it was too fast to adjust course, only to have to raise his arms to block a blow going for his head.

'Damn,' he cursed, dispelling his chakra cloak for a second time. 'I didn't think about who was attacking me. She was able to block some of the chakra points in my arm. It will throw off my jutsus. I need to get out of this smoke. Between Hanabi's Byakugan and Isamu's nose, I'm at a serious disadvantage.' Jumping backwards away from the two genins, he was able to finally get clear of the smoke. Sensing another person behind him, Naruto turned around to see Akira finishing his hand signs. Naruto looked into the boy's eyes to try and read them. 'What type of jutsu is he using?' All of a sudden, the world started to spin around Naruto. 'What? Genjutsu? Kurama, help me out!'

 **'I can't believe these kids are pushing you this hard,'** the fox admitted as he released the genjutsu.

Naruto's vision cleared just in time to see a kunai appear out of the smoke heading right for him.

'Shit! I thought these guys didn't have any teamwork? I barely have time to dodge.' He was off balance with very little time. The only thing Naruto could manage was to lean to the side to avoid the path of the kunai as it flew past him. Except, it wasn't a kunai anymore, suddenly, with a puff of smoke, the kunai transformed and it was Hanabi that was flying by him, hands outstretched for the bells. The timing had been perfect and her hands closed around the bells.

'What the heck just happened? How did that just happen?'

The two genin were standing around him grinning while Hanabi wore a smug expression as she picked herself off the ground where she had fallen from her flight through the air. Clones of Isamu ground to a halt beside their master as they called off the attack that had been seconds away from hitting Naruto before Hanabi grabbed the bells. In a puff of smoke, the clones turned back into Takeshi and Takeo who promptly jumped back into Isamu's hood and fell back asleep.

"So, Sensei," began Akira, "can we eat our lunch now? Or do we still have to wait until noon?"

"Haha. I think we broke Sensei," giggled Hanabi. "He is completely frozen in shock."

"Can't blame the guy. Image his reputation when word gets out he was beaten by 3 rookie genin," joked Isamu. "He even had to use his jinchūriki power to get out of Akira's paralysis trap."

"Nah, he probably could have gotten out with his own power if he tried a little harder. I don't have enough chakra to keep a Jounin like him trapped for more than a second or two. But seriously, I still used a lot of chakra and I'm hungry. Should we just start eating without him, or what?"

Snapping out of his shock, Naruto finally looked at his three genin. 'Did they really pull all this off themselves? I don't even know if Shikamaru could find a flaw in that plan.' "You three did amazing." The astonishment on his face told the three how genuine his comment had been. "Tell me, can you guys tell me the purpose of this test?"

The other two turned toward Akira, who answered, "Teamwork, right? We had seen a few kids sent back to the academy when we were still there, but it was always in groups of three, meaning no one had failed individually. Besides, there is no way genin would be expected to take on a Jonin one on one."

"Exactly, teamwork." Naruto shook his head at the kid's logic. Shikamaru wasn't kidding, the kid is just like him. "Another lesson is this, real shinobi will be expected to put the good of the team and the mission above the good of themselves. By working together, despite the fact that one of you would be sent back to the academy demonstrated this. I'm proud of you three. You all pass!" He proclaimed with a thumbs up. "8am tomorrow, we meet here for our first mission as Team 7. Dismissed."

"So is that a yes on the lunch thing?" Akira asked.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Unprecedented**

"I'm telling you, it was insane," Naruto explained to the others over dinner. "I still can't believe it."

"Wait, didn't you pass the bell test were you a genin?" Chouji asked?

"Yeah, we passed. It took us hours and we didn't really get what it was all about. We only got it once Kakashi-sensei explained it to us after. He had given us a second chance, Sasuke and Sakura both broke Kakashi's rules to give me part of their lunch, that way we could work better as a team, and that is how we passed. It was about teamwork; it was never about getting the bells. These kids not only worked together flawlessly from the start, they actually managed to take the bells from me, all in under a quarter of the time I had given them. I talked to Kakashi-sensei, and he said it was rare enough for teams to past the test, but he never heard of anyone actually getting the bells before, not even when the Yondaime was a genin."

Looking around at the other Jonin sitting at the restaurant table, Naruto saw the same surprise on all of their faces. For a rookie genin team to show more potential than the Yondaime, who was regarded as one of the greatest shinobi to ever live, was a fact that none of them could quite wrap their minds around. Adding to the astonishing accomplishment was the fact that they not only succeeded where he had failed, but they had succeeded against Naruto, who was, quite possibly, even more respected than his father had been.

"I can't believe it," whispered Ino. "I thought you said they were arguing and had split up?"

"I talked with them afterwards, and the whole thing had been a ruse. They were playing me from the beginning," admitted Naruto, hanging is head. "They had met up almost instantly after going into hiding and began working on a strategy. Then, they just waited until I was listening to put it into motion."

"How could they have known you were listening? I mean, you said you were downwind from them, there was no way my cousin could have known you were there," Kiba spoke up. "They would have had to time it perfectly to make it seem believable without letting you overhear their real plan."

"You're forgetting that they have a Hyuga on their team," answered Shikamaru. "I'm assuming Naruto made the same mistake. All they had to do was position her so that she was facing away from Naruto's position, so he couldn't see her Byakugan activate, then wait until she saw Naruto approach and start to listen, then they wouldn't need much timing at all."

"Dang, they thought that far ahead?" Kiba voicing the astonishment they all felt.

"You don't know the half of it," Naruto replied. "Every single one of their attacks were flawless and they flowed together better than most Jonin teams I've seen. There was no room to breathe between their combinations and each one was closer and closer to succeeding than the last. Hell, Akira almost got me by himself in the first attack. The plan was worthy of Shikamaru. Actually, if Shikamaru wasn't too busy with his other duties, I would put in a request for him to their Jonin sensei with the way they plan ahead. Especially Akira."

"Wait, why especially him?"

"I didn't ask them, but I'm fairly certain the entire strategy was his idea. And the trap he used on me was a customized midlevel fuinjutsu, something no genin should be able to pull off. I swear, this kid has to have the intellect of Shikamaru and the work ethic of Lee."

Everyone was impressed at the comparisons Naruto made, but none so much as Ino and Choji. They both knew Shikamaru better than anyone and looked at her former teammate with a contemplative expression.

'He is already a great Jonin, even if he is a lazy bum. Imagine just how strong he would be if he actually put some effort into it.' Ino mused.

Chouji's thoughts were trying to combine the mental image of the slacker Shikamaru and the hyperactive Rock Lee. The resulting image was, quite frankly, disturbing, for multiple reasons.

"Where did this kid learn fuinjutsu," asked Kiba. "The only person I know who ever really uses it is Ten-ten, but she only uses it for sealing and unsealing all her weapons."

"From his sister," answered Shikamaru.

"His sister? Who is she?"

"She was a captain in the Sealing Corps during the war. Apparently, their family somewhat specialized in fuinjutsu, and the kid's sister would teach him after his academy lessons on how to use fuinjutsu."

"He said as much during our introductions the other day. He said his hobby was practicing with his sister."

"He did? That's surprising, seeing as how his sister is dead."

"What?!" when up around the table.

"She was in the Fourth Division with me, but I didn't know her. She was crushed by Madara's meteors."

"The poor boy. He must have been very close to her," Hinata frowned.

"She was his only family. Their parents had died in the Sand/Sound invasion back during our first Chunin Exam. He was only a baby at the time and she had to raise him herself when she wasn't on missions trying to support them."

"Wait, if he is all alone, how does he support himself now?"

Naruto said quietly, "All orphans, if they are old enough to live on their own, are given a stipend from the village to live off of until they can get their own income from ninja missions or other work."

"I was curious too. I did some digging and it turns out he also sells some of his custom work," Shikamaru added. "He can make his own different kinds of sealing scrolls or paper tags. Some of his explosive tags are brilliant. He can make smoke bomb tags, flash bang tags, as well as regular explosive tags with custom delays. I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't all he could do."

"Really? That is already pretty impressive for someone his age."

"Have you noticed all those scrolls he carries around with him?" They all nodded affirmative. "When I would go visit the academy, sometimes I would see him reading one of them between classes, or after he finished his regular work, they were all scrolls on fuinjutsu, some of them were pretty high level. He told me his sister would get them from the library for him."

"Man, now I really don't know what I'm gonna do to teach them," pouted Naruto. "They already showed me up on the first day. With Akira's skills, and all the training Hanabi got from Hiashi, they are both probably chunin level already. I'm out of my depth here."

"No you're not." Everyone looked over at Shikamaru, in the certainty in his voice. "You're probably the only one that CAN teach them anything, even Kakashi said so. I knew a little about Akira's abilities beforehand, so I went to the Hokage after he was assigned to your team and he told me what I'm telling you, those kids need you Naruto, not me, not anyone else, you. What could I do? They obviously already know the strength of good strategy and have proven that they are capable of making one. That is my only strength. You, on the other hand, are the man that brought entire nations together, you defeated a god, and most importantly, you know how it feels to be alone. That kid has no one in his life anymore. Would you really trust someone else knowing that he could go down the same path as Sasuke did back then?"

Naruto was frowning. He hated when arguments against him made sense, but he hated even more the thought of someone going through the same thing as his best friend.

Sakura could sense the direction of Naruto's thoughts and smiled at her old teammate. 'Shikamaru knew just what buttons to press. Naruto cares so much about his comrades, he would never allow someone to feel so alone, that is why he will be the greatest Hokage ever, even if he doesn't see it himself.'

Letting out a big breath, he turned to Shikamaru, "Thanks, Shika. You are right, and I needed to hear that."

Smirking, Shikamaru nodded to his friend. "Just do what you always do, give it your best shot. It's worked pretty well so far."

"Alright!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Mission Time**

"That's our mission?!" Isamu was outraged.

"I knew D-rank missions sucked, but I didn't think it would be this lame," agreed Hanabi.

"At least it's better than painting a fence or something," mumbled Akira, already resigned.

Naruto was smiling inside, but had to hide it. He remembered exactly how he felt about his first mission, but it was part of the team building and, quite frankly, these missions were like a rite of passage for young ninja. "Come on guys, you know the rules. 25 D-ranks before you can get a C-rank. But I promise, I will ask Kakashi-sensei for a super awesome mission when we get the chance."

Akira and Hanabi both perked up a bit. They had forgotten that the hero Naruto was also the student of the sixth Hokage and figured if anyone could score them a good mission, then it would be the Hokage's former student. Isamu was still a fairly disgruntled, muttering obscenities and something that sounded like "cats."

"So," Akira began. "All we have to do is finish 25 missions like this, and we can get a cool mission?"

"That's what I said."

"Alright! We'll just get as many done as we can each day, then we'll be off on our awesome adventure by the end of the week!" Akira cheered.

Naruto sweat-dropped. 'Five missions a day? Maybe I was wrong, he might be even MORE motivated than Lee.'

But, fifteen minutes later, the three genins were handing over the captured cat to her owner who promptly began smothering her with hugs and kisses, earning a slightly evil grin from Isamu. He hated animal abuse, but he also had an almost genetic disposition against any feline.

As the Daimyo's wife began to leave, Akira quickly walked over to her, whispering something to her ear. They talked for a few more seconds before Akira handed her something. They shook hands, after which the woman walked out the door and Akira seemed to slip something into his pocket.

Naruto, along with his other students, eyed the boy, "What was that about, Akira?"

"Oh, nothing." He shrugged. "Just a little side project."

"Would you care to share with the rest of the team?"

"I would, but it is a private business matter."

"You know, any missions must be handled through the Hokage's office. Side dealing is against the law." Naruto was starting to look a little angry.

Akira was getting a little nervous. He didn't like talking about his business because it brought of questions about his past, but he didn't want Naruto or others angry with him. "It wasn't a mission, promise. It was a transaction for some other business I do." He was sweating and waving his hands in front of himself.

Naruto then remembered what Shikamaru said about the kid selling custom seals and such to support himself. His anger disappeared in an instant, replaced by a kind of sadness. He guessed why he didn't really want to talk about it. "Just keep in mind, no selling ninja equipment to civilians. I don't want to have to report it."

The other two genin just looked at their sensei's change in tone, curious why he was dropping the issue so easily. They also wanted to know what he meant about selling equipment. Was Akira dealing in illegal merchandise?

Akira on the other hand, brightened considerably. "Don't worry Sensei, it wasn't anything dangerous."

"Good. Come on, maybe the Hokage has another mission for us."

The team was able to complete another 3 D-rank missions that day, much to Naruto's surprise and annoyance. He would rather be spending his evenings with Hinata, but the three were so dang committed to getting 25 missions by the end of the week that he just couldn't say no to their enthusiasm and their determination.

The sun was setting as the team was leaving the Hokage's office after their last mission. Just as he got to the door, Kakashi called Naruto back for a minute.

"What's up Kakashi-sensei?"

"I had an interesting talk call from the Daimyo's wife concerning your student this afternoon. Know anything about it?" he asked with a sly look.

"I know Akira sold her something right before I left, but he promised it wasn't anything dangerous or mission related, so I thought I'd let it slide."

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, he isn't wrong."

"You know what it was?"

"Oh yes. The reason she called me in the first place was to actually thank your team for her." Naruto was surprised. "It turns out Akira had sold her a custom set of barrier seals. The Daimyo's wife put the tags all around her home and then another on the cat's collar, just as Akira instructed and now, even with all the doors wide open, the cat can't escape the home."

"Really? I didn't even know you could do something like that."

"Well, like I said, it is a custom set. Honestly, I'm pretty good at fuinjutsu myself and I'm not even sure I could pull it off. Your student is prodigy with his fuinjutsu work. I'm thinking I might have to contract him for some of his custom explosive tags for the village."

"You couldn't do it?" Naruto was surprised. He knew Kakashi was one of the most skilled ninjas in the elemental nations. He didn't earn the title of Hokage for nothing, afterall. So the thought that he couldn't do a jutsu, other than a kekkei genkai, that this genin could was something that never even occurred to Naruto.

"Well, fuinjutsu is more like an art, more so than the other shinobi skills. It isn't like taijutsu or ninjutsu which are determined by your strength and your chakra. Fuinjutsu relies more on ingenuity than anything else. It is like its own language, and what you can accomplish with it is only limited by your grasp of that knowledge and your skill in applying it. I'm sure Jiraiya or Orochimaru might be able to do it, had they ever been inclined to, and I might be able to replicate the product after some study, but the fact that the kid is this good at such a young age, I wouldn't be surprised if he became the world's greatest sealmaster by the time he is your age."

"Man, I knew he was good after he got me in that trap, but I didn't think he was that good."

"What trap?"

"When I gave them the bell test, the first thing he did was lure me into a trap with a clone. Not a shadow clone, just a regular illusion one. I couldn't tell the difference because he had chosen a spot completely in shadow and didn't make the clone move, just sit there and read. So when I jumped in front of him to scare him, I set off some sort of trap and I couldn't move at all. He explained later that he had four seals containing a paralysis jutsu set up in a formation around the clone, and that when I landed inside the formation, it activated. I had to use Kurama's chakra to overpower the jutsu and break free before he grabbed the bells, although he tricked me again with an exploding substitution."

Kakashi's eyes were wide, shocked by the end of the story. "The paralysis jutsu isn't a very high level technique, but the fact that he was able to link four different jutsus together into a Perimeter Barrier like that is a B rank skill. That, and the level of forethought the boy showed, I expect this boy will show us amazing things."

Naruto just stood there nodding.

"Alright, you can go home now, Naruto. I'll see you and your team tomorrow morning for some more missions. At the rate they've been going, I expect we'll run out of D-rank missions by the end of the week."

Naruto chuckled as he turned to walk away. "Don't tell them that, they want to get to C-ranks by the end of the week." With a wave, he left the office.

Kakashi turned to look out the windows. He had a lot to think about, and for once, it was actually exciting.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: A Real Sealmaster

Team 7 was walking into the Hokage's office late one morning after already finishing pulling weeds for two hours for their first D-rank mission of the day. They were well on their way to starting their first C-rank mission by start of the next week.

As they walked into his office, Kakashi sighed. The team had been eating through all his D-rank missions with a gusto. He had been kidding when he told Naruto they would run out D-ranks, but it turns out they had actually managed it. "Hello you four." He greeted the now familiar sight.

"What have you got for us this time, Hokage-sama?" blurted out the young Inuzuka.

Kakashi sighed again. "Well, nothing actually."

"Huh?" the three chorused.

"Yup. You guys have pretty much done every single D-rank the village has to offer at the moment," he told them.

Akira, with a hopeful look, replied, "It's okay, Hokage-sama. We don't mind a C-rank."

He smiled behind his mask. The kid had cheek. "Unfortunately, Akira, you three only managed to complete 19 of the 25 necessary D-rank missions before you are eligible for a C-rank."

"So, what? We just sit on our butts all day and wait for another mission to show up?"

"That sounds about right." The three genin sweat-dropped. "Come on, you're telling me you would rather go around carrying people's laundry for them instead of relaxing and getting an early start to the weekend?" Isamu looked a little excited at the thought, as did Naruto. But Akira was just shaking his head. Hanabi seemed to be indifferent. Chuckling, he continued, "I'll tell you what," they perked up, "If your sensei says you're ready, I have this C-rank that seems pretty simple."

Before he could even speaking they were already looking up at Naruto with big grins on their faces, just begging for him to give them permission.

"Ugh. So much for a long weekend with my girlfriend," moaned Naruto. He huffed, "Fine. They're ready."

"Whoohoo!" The three jumped up and slapped fives together, pumping their fists in victory.

"I told you, Sensei. We would definitely be getting a C-rank by the end of the week."

"Yeah, yeah, Akira, just quiet down so the Hokage can give us the mission details."

"Thank you. I want you all to be extra careful on this mission. It is your first C-rank and you are all still brand new genin. On top of that, the mission is issued by Orochimaru—"

"Nope. I take it back. They're not doing it," Naruto interrupted, scowling.

"Ah come on, Sensei," Hanabi and Isamu pleaded. Akira's face was calm, but his eyes were showing evidence of some sort of internal debate.

"Nope. I am not getting anywhere near that creep."

Kakashi had a feeling something like this would happen. Since the war, Orochimaru had proven himself to be more helpful than he had been in the past. He still was disliked by the majority of the population, as they hadn't forgotten about all the atrocities he had committed. It seemed Naruto didn't forgive him for his role in Sasuke's ordeals either. It also appeared that Akira realized Orochimaru's role in the death of his parents. To be completely honest, Kakashi didn't really trust the old Sannin either, but he did provide aid, often unasked, and expected little in return. He had also seemed to stop his human experiments, instead focusing on experiments that didn't require sacrifices. The only reason he had chosen this mission for the group was because Naruto was more than capable of handling anything should Orochimaru decide to go back to his old ways, as well as the fact that his team was already the most capable squad of genins, even over other, older squads.

"Naruto, a quick word, please." Kakashi beckoned Naruto towards his desk. Whispering, so the three genin wouldn't hear, "Think about this objectively, Naruto. It is the only mission available and it could be highly beneficial to your squad. Orochimaru hasn't done anything bad for a long time and should anything happen, you are the best person to be there to get your team out of trouble. Do you really think Orochimaru would be dumb enough to try anything with you there watching him?"

"I don't care. I don't like him and I don't trust him. I don't want my team anywhere near that slimeball."

"You don't need to like him. And I never asked you to trust him. I certainly don't. But a mission is a mission. It brings money into the village and gives our ninja the needed experience to improve themselves."

Naruto closed his eyes, breathing out through his nose. "Fine, but if he tries anything with my team, I'm gonna kill him. Permanently this time."

Kakashi knew this was the best he was going to get. "Fair enough." Speaking up for the others to hear him, "The mission is to help round up some animal subjects that escaped and are pestering the villagers. Report to Orochimaru when you arrive. He will give you further details. Now you have twenty minutes to pack any gear you will need and meet at the village gates. Expect to be away from the village for a few days. It is several hours run to the laboratory."

It was time to leave, and Naruto turned to his team. "Fair warning before we get there. I do not trust Orochimaru, and I don't want any of you to trust him either. If he offers you anything, or tries to get you on your own, walk away. Always be on guard. He is cunning and manipulative. If you have any issues, don't hesitate to radio me and I will be there as soon as I can."

"Come on, Sensei, you make him sound like a pedophile or something," joke Isamu.

Naruto gave his student a hard look. "Trust me, he is worse." He turned and jumped into the trees, followed closely by Hanabi and Akira. Isamu was still staring after them, slightly stunned. A slight shiver ran down his spine before he finally raced off to catch up with his teammates.

They were able to arrive at the location provided by in the mission request by mid-evening. Waiting for them, wearing silver robes of silk with dark green trimming was the snake Sannin himself.

"Ah, what a surprised to see you here, Naruto-kun," hissed the slim man, smiling. Aside from his wardrobe, Orochimaru was exactly the same as Naruto remembered him.

Isamu leaned over to his teammates, standing a bit behind Naruto, and whispered, "No wonder Naruto-sensei warned us. He gives me the creeps just looking at him. He even smells wrong."

"Orochimaru," Naruto nodded with a neutral tone. He didn't trust the man, but it wouldn't serve any purpose to antagonize the man. "What is this mission? We would like to get started as soon as we can."

"Of course. Follow me." He turned and seemed to disappear into the side of the hill. Only after they moved closer did they see the hidden opening.

They followed Orochimaru down several hallways lit with torches to a chamber filled with computers, displaying various charts, graphs, and figures. Inside was a man with teeth like a piranha and white hair. A large sword hung on his back.

"Heh, would you look at that. The great Hero is playing babysitter," sneered the man.

"Can it, Suigetsu, before I evaporate you," replied Naruto.

"Yeesh," he whined, holding his hands up in a surrender gesture. "Can't even take a joke. I don't know who is worse, you or Sasuke." Naruto turned and ignored him.

"What are we dealing with, Orochimaru? And for that matter, why are we even here? Why didn't you just make Fishbreath do this?" he asked jerking his head towards Suigetsu, who frowned.

Orochimaru just chuckled his normal little laugh. "ku ku ku. I had forgetten how pleasant you were to work with, Naruto-kun. The reason I hire Leaf ninjas for these little chores is because I've come to enjoy watching the younger generations as they grow up and shape the wind. Besides, otherwise I would never hear the end of Suigetsu's whining."

"Sure, let's all pick on me," muttered Suigetsu.

"Okay," chimed in Akira with a smirk, "You look too skinny to even lift that sword."

"Wha—"

"Did you file your teeth that way, or just get kicked in the face too many times?" chimed in Hanabi, sharing a devious smile with her teammates.

"Why you—"

"I'm sure it's not his fault, guys," added Isamu calmly, getting Suigetsu's hopes up. The ninja should have known better. "I doubt he'd be stuck being someone's lapdog if he actually had any skill."

The white haired man was grinding his teeth in fury at the three genins sniggered at him, meanwhile Naruto was clutching his sides, trying to hold in the laughter that was shaking his frame. Even Orochimaru was giggling at him.

"That's it. I'm outahere," he growled as he stalked out the door.

"I must say, Naruto-kun, I admire your students' wit. Not many genin's have the audacity to speak down to someone of Suigetsu's skill."

Wiping a tear from his eye, "Yeah, they're a cheeky bunch alright. Now, enough delays. Explain the mission to us."

"As you wish. The mission is the recapture of several of my animal test subjects. They had escaped sometime late last night and have been terrorizing the village not too far from here."

"Why did you have us meet here instead of at the village?" interjected Isamu.

"Because these test subjects are a little… unique," answered Orochimaru. "They are part of an experiment I was using to enhance a subject's healing capability. However, a side effect was that it also increased their metabolism and their agility. So they are extremely fast and very, very hungry."

"Just what kind of animals are they?" Akira was picturing a bunch of superfast, rabid wolves, attacking anything insight to get its next meal.

"Rabbits." The genins sweatdropped. "Don't be fooled, even normal rabbits can be difficult to capture, these rabbits are nigh on impossible."

"Still," scowled Isamu, "they're just rabbits. How is this a C-rank mission? It's like we're back to catching pets all over again. What do they do, eat someone's lawn?"

Naruto looked over at the Sannin and noticed he almost looked… embarrassed?

"Actually, the alterations to their metabolism required them to start eating items with higher caloric values. Otherwise they would burn calories faster than they could eat them and thus, starve to death."

"By higher caloric values, you mean… what, exactly?" prodded Akira.

"Pretty much anything they can get their teeth on," muttered the Sannin. "It seems their favorite is hardwoods. It keeps their teeth from growing too fast."

"Just great," mumbled Naruto.

The four members of Team 7 and Orochimaru had just arrived at the village. Most of the buildings showed significant signs of gnawing and the rabbits were practically everywhere, just little blurs shooting across the ground from one chewed up object to the next.

"Got a plan, Akira?" Naruto asked, looking towards the thoughtful expression on his student's face.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if we can pull it off and it has a moderate probability that some of us get chewed on."

"Yeah, count me out of that," Isamu said. "I'm predator, I'm not about to become prey."

"Well, it's the only plan we have right now, unless you come up with something else, Isamu," Naruto said, "So I think we should at least hear Akira out."

Akira nodded. "Basically, there is no way we can catch them one at a time. They are just way too fast. So we try to catch them all at once. If we could lure all of them to some sort of choke point, I could trap them all with my Paralysis Field. The problem is that we need something they can't chew through for a choke point, but none of us knows an earth style jutsu. Plus, we'd need at least one person to run through the village with a bunch of hardwood to try to lure the rabbits to the trap."

Naruto was nodding along with Akira's explination, impressed as always. He had managed to create a viable plan in seconds of assessing the situation and point out all of the flaws within the plan with objectivity, as to avoid any unnecessary surprises. Too many people would try to hide a plan's shortcomings in order to make it seem like their idea was the best option, just to get the credit, but that often lead to more trouble than the original issue.

Orochimaru was also admiring the boy's analysis. He had often been called the genius of the Sannin, and as such, he could appreciate the boy's intellect. He also was curious to see this Paralysis Field he had mentioned. It sounded like a useful jutsu.

"But, like I said, unless we manually stack a bunch of rocks into a wall tall enough the rabbits can't jump over, the plan is useless without an earth style jutsu."

"Not necessarily." Naruto spoke as he brought out his chakra cloak. "I could just grab the earth and yank up some walls, no problem."

"Umm, Sensei, isn't it cheating if you help us?"

"Shhhh! Hanabi, why would you say that," whined Isamu. "We almost had this in the bag."

"Ku-ku-ku. It isn't necessarily cheating. He is a member of your team after all. But it is a bit superfluous. I'm a little insulted, Naruto-kun. You are next to a man whose life ambition had been to learn every known jutsu and you didn't think he could pull off a simple earth wall?" teased the snake Sannin.

"I didn't even think about it. You're the client. I may be able to help my team, but it is highly irregular for a client to help out."

"I forget you haven't been on many missions yourself, due to the war and everything. But clients are actually quite capable of assisting when necessary. They typically don't just because the client is usually not a ninja. Here." He wove through hand signs faster than they could track, and then slammed his hands down to the ground. "Earth Style: Mud Wall Jutsu." Two earth walls began to rise out of the ground, forming a narrow channel that widened out at one end.

"Thank you," spoke up Akira once the wall had risen to a suitable height. "Now all that is left is to get some hardwood from those houses and lure all the rabbits here with it. Hanabi, how is your Rotation?"

"It's passable, but how will that help?"

"Simple, Isamu is the fastest of the three of us, so he should be able to stay ahead of most of the rabbits, at least for a bit –" "Hey!" "- so you will need to use your Rotation to knock them back from you every once in a while when they get too close."

"And what will you be doing?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Someone has to set up the Paralysis Field," he answered with a smile.

"Figures," she muttered. Akira's smile widened while Naruto and Orochimaru stood off to the side, chuckling quietly.

"BunnyBaitOne, are you in position?" Akira spoke through the radio headset.

He heard a sigh. "Yeah, I'm ready," answered Hanabi.

"BunnyBaitTwo, are you ready?"

"F*# YOU! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING BAIT?! I WOULD SLAUGHTER ALL THESE F*# ING RABBITS IF IT WASN'T FOR THIS F*# ING MISSION!" Akira took his earpiece out and held it away from his ear to prevent Isamu's ranting from causing any permanent hearing loss. After the screaming had settled in mumbled expletives, he put the earpiece back in to hear Hanabi ask, "Why did we let Akira pick the codenames anyway?"

"Yo, that's Trapmaster to you, BunnyBaitOne."

"It was his plan, so he gets to pick the names. Next time, you two can make the plan and come up with the codenames. FoxyNinja out," Naruto called off. He turned to give Akira a big thumbs up for his codename. He was standing off to the side of the trap they had set in order to assist Akira should anything go wrong with the trap. Orochimaru was standing even further away, observing the team's antics with an amused expression.

"Alright, everything is set, Bait Team, you are a go!"

"I swear, I'm gonna kill him if these stupid rabbits don't get me first," Isamu muttered as he and Hanabi jumped out from their hiding places. They had both tied some of the hardwood they had appropriated from the village in order to help protect themselves from the rabbit's gnawing teeth, if even for a few moments. As they ran through the village, they also waved about a few chunks of hardwood to act as the bait. If they had paused in their sprint through the village, they would have noticed that the plan was, in fact, working. They each had a few dozen rabbits bounding after them, eager for the chance to chew on some the wood the genins carried with them. It was lucky that neither of them had decided to look back needed to look behind them, or else the slight loss of momentum would mean that they would have been caught. Hanabi had her Byakugan activated and could see exactly where all the rabbits were, even the ones directly behind her. Isamu had his nose and Takeshi and Takeo to tell him where his pursuers were. As it was, Isamu, with both Takeshi and Takeo barking at the rabbits from the safety of his hood, had to occasionally leap onto the roofs of the buildings to create a little space between himself and the rabbits. Hanabi stuck to the pre-arranged plan to push the rabbits back with her Rotation every so often, just before the rabbits began chewing.

They continued the routine throughout the entire village, making sure they had the attention of every rabbit before they turned to join up and lead the herd of rabbits towards the trap.

"Hey Trapmaster, I hope you're ready, we're coming in hot," Isamu called, giving the headsup.

"I'm ready on my end, just remember to jump clear when I give the signal or you'll be stuck with the rabbits." Akira watched carefully, making sure that he timed his jutsu correctly. He had to make sure no rabbits made it out the far end of the trap, but he also couldn't activate too soon or else the ones that were behind the others would have time to slow down before getting to the affected area. "Almost… Any Second… Ready… NOW!" Akira ran through the handsigns to activate the jutsu seals and slammed his hands into the ground, feeding his chakra into the seals to power the trap, just as Hanabi and Isamu jumped out of the earthen walls.

"Sooo, how was your stroll?" Akira teased as he knelt on the ground, maintaining the trap.

Hanabi and Isamu were both bending over with their hands on their knees breathing heavy. They were shinobi, and thus they were in pretty good shape, especially given that both of their families trained its members primarily in taijutsu. But both were still rather young and had been sprinting at top speed for several minutes, as well as their avoidance maneuvers, which took even more stamina. The wood planks they had originally strapped to their ankles showed significant signs of damage, but thankfully, it had held against the teeth, protecting both of them from any injury.

"Screw" PANT "you" PANT, Isamu got out.

Hanabi just gave him an annoyed look and took a drink from her canteen before sitting down to relax her tired muscles.

"Fair enough." Akira shrugged, good naturedly. Still kneeling at the back of the choke point, he took out a sealing scroll he had prepared earlier and proceeded to seal the trapped rabbits into the scroll, all while making sure to maintain the chakra stream to the Paralysis Field.

After the last rabbit disappeared into the scroll, Akira stood, brushed off his knees, and proceeded to roll up the scroll as he walked over to Orochimaru. "Here you go," He said handing over the scroll. "The capture and return of all the escaped subjects has been completed."

Orochimaru took the scroll, slipping it into a pouch inside his robes, looking down at the boy in front of him. "Why thank you. You and your team did an excellent job." Akira nodded his thanks. "I'm especially impressed with that paralysis jutsu you used. Is it an original?"

Akira gave a small smirk. "Yes, sir. The jutsu itself isn't, but I'm the first to put it on a paper tag and use it in a Perimeter Barrier Formation."

"That is very impressive indeed. I'm a bit of a seal master myself. I could –"

Naruto's scoff interrupted him. "Yeah, I know just how good with seals you are. I'm not sure I want my student learning any of those monstrosities."

"Ahh. Yes. I may have dabbled in a few, unsavory practices in the past, but that knowledge was gained from an understanding of traditional fuinjutsu. In fact, I might even go as far to say I'm the greatest remaining seal master in the Elemental Nations." Akira's eyes perked up at that, but refrained from allowing his expression to show his interest. "The only ones that I can think of that surpassed me were your parents and Jiraiya. Tsunade is quite gifted as well, but not to the extent as Jiraiya or myself."

He turned to look back to the young boy in front of him. "That begs the question, how did you become so proficient in the art? The only person I can think of still in Konoha with much skill in fuinjutsu is Kakashi, but he is surely too busy with his new position."

Akira was surprised, he had no idea the Hokage was skilled in fuinjutsu. His reputation had mostly revolved around his exploits in ANBU, his skill with the sharingan, which can't copy fuinjutsus, and the fact he trained Team 7, which went on to become the Sannin 2.0. Answering Orochimaru's question, "My parents were dedicated to fuinjutsu. They taught my sister, who later taught me."

"Really? Who are your parents? I haven't heard of any fuinjutsu masters in Konoha."

"You wouldn't. They died in an invasion before they could finish most of their work. My sister and I were trying to finish what they started."

"Invasion? The only invasion in Konoha was…" Orochimaru trailed off, realizing which invasion the boy's parents had died in, and the look in the boy's eyes showed that he knew just who was responsible for it. But what surprised him was that the eyes didn't hold the hatred that he had expected. It was like they were… disappointed. It was a novel experience for him. He was used to hate, fear, and even grudging respect at times, but the only person to ever look at him with eyes like this child was Sarutobi-sensei, right before he died. The comparison left Orochimaru shocked.

Hanabi and Isamu had heard the conversation and were looking between themselves and their teammate. They had never known that the boy was an orphan. Actually, they didn't know much about Akira's home life at all. They only knew he had a sister because he had spoken of her during their introductions their first day. Yet, here he was, facing down the man responsible for the death of his parents, and they. Hadn't even been able to tell something was wrong in all the time they had spent with the Snake Sannin.

Naruto was looking at his team. He saw the concern on Hanabi's and Isamu's face as they learned part of the harsh truth that was Akira's past. 'I wonder how they will react when the learn the whole story.' He looked at Akira, studying his expression. The young man certainly masked his facial expressions well, but his eyes were still readable. Naruto could see the disappointment in them that he had for a Orochimaru. But he could also see a hint of something he had plenty of experience seeing in the mirror of his own childhood, the loneliness. He decided he would try to speak with Akira later, but right now it would be better to get the mission over with. Easing the tension, he walked over to Orochimaru. "The mission is now completed, correct? We have a quite a bit of distance to travel before we make it back to Konoha and I would rather be back as soon as we can." He looked up to the sky. It was starting its decent towards the horizon. If they didn't leave soon, they would have to travel in the dark, and that wasn't something he was eager to do.

Orochimaru looked up from his thoughts at Naruto's words. He had come to a decision. "Actually Naruto-kun. You and your team are welcome to rest here tonight. I have rooms and food available for you. I have something I would like to share with Akira-kun." Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Relax, Naruto-kun. It isn't anything nefarious. You and the others are welcome to tag along. I just remembered I have something that could be of use to Akira-kun. I certainly won't be needing it."

Naruto looked over to his student. He knew he had very little to offer the boy in terms of training him in fuinjutsu. If Orochimaru could provide a little help, then he figured the boy deserved it. "In that case, we will accept your hospitality. Please lead the way."

The five ninjas got back to the hidden entrance just before the sun began to touch the horizon. Naruto was a little glad that they wouldn't have to travel home in the dark, even if he was stuck in Orochimaru's hideout.

As they walked in, Orochimaru led them down a different series of hallways, although it was hard to tell since every hallway looked pretty much the same. He finally stopped at a door at the end of a hallway that lead to a deadend. Behind the door was a large storage room, filled to the brim with filing cabinets and shelves containing scrolls and boxes of parchment. Apparently Orochimaru hadn't gotten to putting this stuff on digital yet. The Sannin seemed to know exactly where he was going, walking right up to one of the dusty cabinets in the back left corner of the room. He rummaged through a few of the drawers, pulling out various scrolls, double checking the contents of a few of them. He returned to the group with several of the scrolls piled in his arms. "Here, Akira-kun." He held out his arms and deposited the scrolls in the boy's astonished grasp. "I am not sure what materials you have already covered, concerning fuinjutsu, but this is the majority of my more general knowledge on the subject. I'd be inclined to share more of my specific notes, but I'm afraid your sensei might not appreciate the gesture." He gave a slight smirk to the blonde jonin.

Akira selected one of the scrolls and gave it a quick scan. His eyes grew larger and larger the more he read. He couldn't believe the amount of information in just this one scroll. He had read most of his family's library concerning fuinjutsu, and he could tell there would be a fair bit of overlap, but the sheer amount of detail displayed in this scroll, all meticulously laid out, spoke of the time and effort that had gone into its creation. Akira couldn't believe that this man, the man who had been labeled as a terrorist and monster would be willing to just give him so much valuable information. "I- I- can't accept this, sir. They- these are way too valuable to just give away. I- I- couldn't even begin to-"

"It is quite alright, Akira-kun." The pale ninja raised a hand to stop the boy and calm him down. "I told you already, I have no longer any use for them. My interests in fuinjutsu were not, uh, pleasant. So I have decided to focus on other pursuits. It would give me peace to know that my work will be used and appreciated by another academic, like myself, instead of sitting in a store room gathering dust." The snake Sannin favored the young genin with one of his rare, genuine smiles.

Akira was speechless. He couldn't even begin to express his gratitude. Sensing his friend's predicament, Isamu stepped forward and surprised everyone with a low, formal bow to Orochimaru. "Thank you, sir. Your generosity towards my friend and my teammate is greatly appreciated, and will not be forgotten."

Following his lead, Hanabi also bowed her thanks, and after a second, so did Akira. "Thank you so much. I will treasure this knowledge and use it to become a seal master worthy of your contribution."

Naruto watched as his students bowed to and thanked the man that Naruto had once considered the foulest of human beings. But seeing the genuinely shocked expression on Orochimaru's face, he figured the old snake really had turned over a new leaf. Laughing at his own pun, Naruto strode up to the Sannin, hand extended. He grasped Orochimaru's hand and gave a firm shake. "I too, appreciate your gifts. I never would have thought I'd see the day that I would be able to thank you for anything, after all that you had done."

"Your opinion is not unfounded." He admitted. "I can admit that the things I did in the past were inhumane. At the time, I thought that the sacrifice was worth the reward that I could bestow to the world. I used to be called a genius, but after watching Sasuke, after watching you, I know how ridiculous that was. I now live for the day that the next genius will walk the land so that I can enjoy as their wind turns the windmill that is our world."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Training Time**

The next morning, the team had risen early, eaten breakfast, bid their farewells, and set out for the village. The whole run back, Akira had been leafing through the scrolls that Orochimaru had given him, eager to begin applying some of the Sannin's notes to his own fuinjutsus. They also provided him with some intriguing ideas for some new original seals, but he would have to take time to figure those out separately.

His nose was so far buried in the scrolls that he barely noticed a tree branch until he had crashed into it at full speed. Naruto had seen it coming, but thought it would serve as a good lesson, to not allow yourself become distracted when away from the village. They were at a time of peace, but it never hurt to remain on guard at all times. Hanabi and Isamu of course heard the thud and the accompanying curses from their teammate. They turned around and had to laugh at his disheveled appearance. Having learned his lesson, Akira put away the scrolls, but he became even more impatient to get back to the village so he could go home and give them his undivided attention for the remainder of the weekend.

And that became the pattern for the majority of the next month and a half. The team would meet up to do missions, mostly C-rank missions after they finished the last of the required D-ranks. Apparently, Orochimaru had written an excellent mission review for the team of youngsters. Their missions kept them fairly busy, and they were absolutely more exciting than the common chores that held the name of D-rank missions. The C-ranks had the team outside the village a fair amount of time during the weeks, either with delivering low-priority messages or escorting minor nobles and moderate businessmen. Then, as soon as missions were over, Akira would rush home and continue to pour over all of his scrolls, modifying his old jutsus, and creating and mastering the few new ones he had developed. Likewise, his teammates spent their free evenings training in the ninja arts specific to their clan. Naruto had only been able to schedule a few days throughout the month and a half to train his student himself. They had always been so busy either away on missions or recovering from missions. However, in some of the lulls due to low-mission requests, he had been able to get a feel for his team's abilities. Isamu and Hanabi were both taijutsu oriented with their clans' signature styles, the Inuzaka's Beast Mimicry style taijutsu and the Hyuga's Gentle Fist. There wasn't much Naruto could teach there except to encourage them to develop their own flair with their respective techniques. That had been an interesting discussion.

 _Flashback_

"What do you mean, my own flair?" Hanabi crossed her arms. "The Gentle Fist is the strongest taijutsu style in all of Konoha. Changing it would only weaken it."

'Damn Hyuga pride.' Naruto thought to himself. "Do you really think that, Hanabi? What about Hinata's original techniques? I seem to remember a certain someone begging her older sister to teach her the Twin Lion Fists Technique." He grinned at her as she scowled back. Getting serious, he continued, "All I'm trying to say is, learn from your clan, learn why these techniques work, and then figure out a way to improve it. Never underestimate the value of surprise in a fight. I'm sure Akira showed you that during the bell test. I was being surprised at every turn and that is how you all managed to get the bells from me." She didn't like it, but Naruto made sense.

He turned to Isamu. "I know your clan generally welcomes new ideas, so it shouldn't be too hard for you to start working on your own ideas." The young Inazuka smirked, nodding.

Finally, facing Akira, Naruto didn't really know what to do. "I guess I don't need to tell you to develop your own style, do I?" Aside from developing his own fuinjutsu, he had also created a form of taijutsu that incorporated Aikido to use in conjunction with his fuinjutsu. The style was far from complete, but it had some serious potential.

 _Flashback (inception?)_

During one of their spars, Akira had demonstrated his technique with one of Naruto's shadow clones. He had stayed back, not even bothering to attack, but as soon as the clone launched his own attack, Akira countered, deflecting the blow and jumping away. At first, he seemed to be running away from the fight, when he made a hand sign, detonating a paper bomb that he had slipped onto the clone during the exchange. Those watching were astonished. They hadn't seen him place the bomb and the results were devastating. Akira later explained how he had created the style.

"I knew I would never be stronger than my opponents, and probably not as skilled since I spend all my time on fuinjutsu instead of taijutsu. So I had to figure out a way to make that difference count for nothing. I decided to focus on making my opponent's attacks work against them. I don't have the chakra to make a direct counter effective. Instead, I use stealth, the shinobi's favorite weapon. I aim for my opponent's strikes. It is almost impossible to not leave at least some sort of opening when you attack, so I focus on those openings. That is the basic principle of Aikido. I read about it during some research. I don't need to be strong and hit my opponent, a simple tap is enough," he turned to Hanabi as he said this. "I actually got the idea from watching you during our spars in the academy. The majority of the moves are just deflections and blocks in which I can stick a paper bomb or something on them, then get away. I can also use paralysis seals if I'm too close or use a few throws I learned to create space. The throws I picked up from Judo. It's great because it also uses angles and your opponent's momentum against them, meaning I still don't have to worry about spending so much time to get stronger." The smile slid from his face as he continued. "The only problems are that I'm still pretty vulnerable to the initial attack and there is the chance that my opponent is too fast for me to effectively counter."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to get faster and really master the technique in order to prevent those things from happening."

The grin returned. "Thanks, Sensei!"

"Just do me a favor," Akira's eyebrow quirked in question. "No real paper bombs in our sparring matches."

"Hahaha. You got it!"

 _End Flashback(s?)_

Aside from taijutsu, Naruto also meant to begin covering genjutsu and ninjutsu, but he wanted to be able to dedicate a few days just to each in order to make sure the lessons stuck. It wouldn't do to begin a lesson, then have to go out for a mission for a few days and have them forget everything. Luckily, there were still a few things he could have them practicing on their own as well as the fact that the chunin exams were approaching. When the exams were nearby, eligible genin squads were usually given a reprieve from missions in order to focus on training for the exams. Naruto planned on covering a lot of material in that time. In the meantime, they were working on the tree-climbing and water walking techniques, as well as a few other general skills that will serve them well in their careers.

Hanabi was already making great progress at the water walking exercise. Her heritage and kekei genkei granting her excellent chakra control, allowing her to fly threw the concepts. Once she had mastered that, Naruto would have her perform physical challenges while hanging upside down or walking on water in order to improve her physical endurance, as well as her chakra reserves.

Akira and Isamu had both done fairly well with the tree walking exercise. Akira had had experience with applying steady amounts of chakra to parts of his body thanks to his fuinjutsu practices, and Isamu's clan often used chakra directed towards their nose to heighten their sense of smell. However, the water walking exercise was proving to be quite difficult for them. The amount of chakra required to stay atop the water was constantly fluctuating, requiring instantaneous calibrations which neither one of the boys could seem to get the hang of.

On top of the chakra control training, Naruto had also instructed the three on how to spot genjutsus and how to escape them. Although, Naruto's skill in such matters were practically nonexistent, he had asked Sakura for some help.

Akira had already demonstrated some skill with genjutsu during the bell test, but it wasn't something he particularly practiced or utilized, often only employing it as a momentary distraction to his opponents.

Hanabi's Byakugan also proved to be quite effective at seeing through genjutsus, just like the sharingan. However, she could not reflect them or create her own like the members of the Uchiha clan could.

Isamu was the greatest surprise. After failing several times to spot the errors in the genjutsu, he realized that he could use his sense of smell to spot the genjutsus. A smell is a lot harder to falsify than just creating a false image. Plus, dog's brains worked differently from people's do, and Takeo and Takeshi had also proven to be adept at helping their partner spot the illusions, provided they ever decided to wake up.

Naruto had remembered Akamaru always being ready to back up his partner Kiba in any situation, yet the two puppies here had shown little interest in anything outside the realm of Isamu's hood. During one of their few training days, Naruto had brought up his revelation with Isamu.

"Hey, Isamu, what's up with Takeshi and Takeo? I thought Inuzukas were more cooperative with their partners, but all your dogs seem to do is sleep."

Isamu gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head. "Uhh, yeah. They are kind of grumpy. All of the other nin-dogs kind of pick on them. There was a complication with their litter. They were all born prematurely and they were the only two that were strong enough to handle becoming nin-dogs, but they are still the runts of the pack. That is why my aunt let me train with both of them at once, because she thinks that together, they would make up a single one of the other dogs." His eyes were shifted down, his fists clenched at his sides, clearly trying to contain his frustration. "But I don't care! They're gonna be the greatest nin-dogs in the clan!" He turned his head to look at the sleeping forms in his hood. "If only I could get them to believe in themselves."


End file.
